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The incident was deeply traumatic for the entire Saint-Joseph School community in Lorient. On May 5, 2022, the school’s principal, who had been in office since the start of the school year in September 2021, was arrested at his home by a gendarmerie team specially dispatched from mainland France (JSB1472). Four years later, on Thursday, June 18, the retired National Education official appeared before the Saint-Martin Criminal Court. He was charged with importing, possessing, offering, or making available child pornography. These acts allegedly took place between May 2016 and March 2022—that is, before and during his stay in Saint-Barthélemy.
When he took up his post at the start of the 2021 school year, Christophe Leperlier had thirteen years of experience as a school principal (JSB 1437). A primary school teacher, he explained that he had also taught at middle and high schools, not only in mainland France but also in Réunion and abroad (Brazil, the Dominican Republic).
In November 2021, the Child Protection System software—used to detect IP addresses (unique identification numbers assigned to each device connected to the Internet) associated with the repeated viewing or sharing of child pornography—triggered an alert. The address in question belonged to the defendant. An investigation was launched.
Specialized Software
During the investigation, the gendarmerie and computer experts discovered that child pornography files had been downloaded and shared from several IP addresses belonging to the teacher, first in mainland France and then in Saint Barthélemy. When he was arrested in May 2022, all of his electronic devices were seized. During the hearing on Thursday, June 18—which was attended by our colleagues from Saint-Martin (Le Pélican, Fax Info)—it was revealed that software used to download and share illegal images had been installed on the defendant’s devices.
During his interrogations and before the court, Christophe Leperlier denied the charges and proclaimed his innocence. He also claimed to have provided shelter in Saint-Barthélemy to a homeless man who, according to the defendant, may have used his computer equipment and, consequently, his IP address. It was noted that investigators were never able to identify or locate this man. However, investigators found that child pornography had been downloaded onto the defendant’s devices well before his arrival in Saint-Barthélemy. Experts from the gendarmerie discovered several photographs, including those of a student at the school.
Following the proceedings and a review of the case file, the court found that the evidence regarding the acts allegedly committed between 2016 and 2021 was insufficient. Consequently, the former school principal was acquitted of these charges. However, for the period from November 2021 to March 2022, Christophe Leperlier was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, along with mandatory treatment and a five-year ban on working in any capacity involving contact with minors. In addition, the 64-year-old former civil servant was registered in the registry of sex offenders and violent offenders (Fijaisv). Since his arrest and departure from Saint-Barthélemy, the former director has worked, among other things, at the Youth Housing Service of the Local Committee for Independent Youth Housing (CLLAJ) in Granville (Manche).
